1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to new 1-arylimidazoles and intermediates and processes to make the compounds. The invention further pertains to compositions of said compounds and methods, using said compounds, for the control of arthropod, nematode, helminth or protozoan pests. In particular, it pertains to the application of compounds or compositions thereof in agriculture and methods of use, particularly as pesticides, for controlling arthropods, especially mites or foliar or soil insects, without causing injury to crop plants.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various substituted imidazole compounds are known to exhibit a number of different types of pesticidal activity, including activity as herbicides, plant growth regulators, fungicides, nematicides, insecticides and biocides. Included among these are the following: European Patent Application No. EP 270061A discloses as insecticides 1-arylimidazoles that are unsubstituted in the 2 and 4 positions of the imidazole ring, which additionally has a second phenyl substituent in the 5 position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,213 discloses as plant growth regulators 1-arylimidazoles which are likewise unsubstituted in the 2 and 4 positions of the imidazole ring and further substituted by a carboxamide (aminocarbonyl) group in the 5 position. European Patent Application Nos. EP 277384A and EP 289066A disclose as herbicides 1-arylimidazoles which are only substituted in the 2 and 5 positions and again unsubstituted in the 4 position of the imidazole ring. Other 1-substituted imidazoles are described as insecticides in European Patent Application No. 289919A, in which case the 1-substituent is aralkyl or aralkoxy (i.e., an alkyl or alkoxy bridging group between the imidazole and aryl rings). European Patent Application No. 283173A discloses as insecticides, etc. 2-arylimidazoles in which the aryl ring is attached to the imidazole ring at a carbon atom (2-position) rather than a nitrogen atom and the 1-position nitrogen atom is substituted by hydrogen or an optionally substituted alkyl group. Australian Patent Application No. 8812-883A discloses as fungicides, insecticides, nematicides, etc., imidazole compounds which may be substituted at the 4 or 5 or both 4 and 5 positions of the imidazole ring (i.e., attachment to carbon rather than nitrogen) by an optionally substituted phenyl ring and are substituted on the 1-position nitrogen atom by a hydrogen atom or a sulfonyl group.